EndNote Plus 2.0

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I've recently upgraded to EndNote Plus 2.0.1 & EndLink 2.0 (Mac version;
there is also a PC version). Here is a short review of the new features
in EndNote Plus 2.

[For those who haven't used it before, EndNote is a bibliographical
DBMS which facilitates the tasks of managing, inserting, and formatting
references. It comes as a stand-alone programme, and as plug-in module for
Microsoft Word 5.x. Other commercial bibliographical DBMSs include
Pro-Cite, Reference Manager, Papyrus, PaperBase, Publish-or-Perish;
I've used only EndNote, so I don't know how it compares to the others.
There are also a few shareware packages, but they have very limited
capabilities. A thorough review of EndNote Plus, including a comparison
to ProCite, can be found in MacWeek, October 5, 1992, p. 56.]

REQUIREMENTS
============

Hardware
--------

Mac Plus or higher with a hard drive; at least 770K free RAM, and
approximately 750K-1Mb free space on the hard disk (depending on how
many styles and filters are installed).

Software
--------

System 6.0.7 or higher; the Plug-In Module requires Microsoft Word 5.x
with a RAM allocation of at least 1.8 Mb.

Word Processor Formats Supported
--------------------------------

Microsoft Word 3-5.x (Word 6 is NOT supported in this version)
WordPerfect 1-3.1
MacWrite 5
MacWrite II
MacWrite Pro 1-1.5
WriteNow 1-4.0
Nisus 3-3.4
FrameMaker 3.0-4.0 (MIF)

NOTE
----

(1) EndNote 2 does NOT support Microsoft Word 6 formats. According to
    Niles & Associates, registered users of version 2 will receive a free
    upgrade to EndNote 2.1, which will support Word 6.

(2) EndNote 2 runs on PowerMacs, but it is not native (it runs in 040
    emulation mode).

PRICING
=======

EndNote 2 upgrade: US$79 

EndNote 2 & EndLink 2 upgrade: US$99

(direct from Niles & Associates, Inc.)

OVERALL IMPRESSION
==================

I've tested the programme on Word 5 files, on an LC 475 and a Classic
II. Like the previous version, EndNote 2 appeared to be quite stable
and worked very well on both machines. There was no problem in opening
older libraries, or importing the Journal file (EndNote 2 uses a
different format).

There are no changes in library or reference formats, and changes in the
interface have been kept to a minimum. If you are comfortable with
EndNote Plus 1.x, you'll be even more comfortable with version 2.

NEW FEATURES
============

Entering and Editing Records
----------------------------

Each library can now contain up to 31 term lists, in which one can
store authors, keywords, journal names, etc. The term lists are well
implemented, and simplify entering data and maintaining its
consistency. For instance, if you are entering 12 new records in your
library, all containing the term "Monotrematosphaeridium
fengyangenense", instead of typing it 12 times you enter it in the term
list and use the term list to insert it.

EN is now capable of performing global changes in a library -- a much
needed improvement. For instance, it is now possible to replace all
occurrences of the text "ODP" in selected references with "Ocean
Drilling Program" without opening each reference in turn.

A "Save" command has been added, which is useful for incremental saves
when entering long abstracts (EndNote saves automatically records when
they are closed).

Searching
---------

The search engine has now the ability to use comparative operators (in a
style much resembling FileMaker Pro's). It is thus possible to find
records with empty fields (e.g., all records in which the year is
missing), to find a range of records (e.g., papers published between
1946 and 1949), or to find an exact value (e.g., papers published in
Palynology, but not papers published in Review of Palaeobotany and
Palynology). Searches can be performed on the entire library, or just
on selected references.

Browsing
--------

The library display font is customizable in EN2: the user is no longer
limited to the fat Chicago 12 font. It is also possible now to hide/show
selected references.

Printing
--------

An option to print only selected references has been added to the
Print... dialogue box.

Formatting References
---------------------

EndNote 2 recognizes now the difference between single and multiple
pages, adding "p." or "pp." when appropriate. But more importantly, it
comes with a large collection of formatted journal styles (included
among them is the Earth-Science Reviews/Elsevier Science Model A, which
is used by several palaeontological journals).

Importing
---------

The importing function has been considerably improved. There is now an
option to import another EndNote library or to import tab-delimited files
(most DBMSs and spreadsheets can export in the tab-delimited format).

With EndLink installed, one can import records from many on-line and
CD-ROM databases, including GeoRef, GeoBase, and BioAbstracts; filters
used by EndLink are fully customizable. I tested importation from
GeoRef, which worked better than I expected (edited books, conference
proceedings, and theses were mostly imported correctly). Several errors
(e.g. Nunez, Betelu L. instead of Nunez-Betelu, L.) were due to
limitations in the GeoRef format.

Technical support
-----------------

As before, I found EndNote's technical support excellent. They do not
have an 800 number which is rather bad if you're in a tight spot, but
they can be contacted by e-mail (nilesinc@well.sf.ca.us), which I found
particularly convenient. They also maintain an ftp site
(ftp.magic.ucsb.edu in the /pub/endnote directory), and there is an
EndNote discussion list (to subscribe send the SUBSCRIBE ENDNOTE
command to listserv@ucsbvm.ucsb.edu).

The new address of Niles & Associates, Inc is 800 Jones St, Berkeley,
CA 94710, USA, phone: (510) 559-8592, fax: (510) 559-8683, e-mail:
nilesinc@well.sf.ca.us.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
==================

The new features are generally well implemented, but EndNote still has
many shortcomings: no on-line help and no help balloons; no way to
compact a library without changing record numbers; no way to construct
a search without the mouse (to construct a search one has to navigate
through pull-down menus and buttons); limited support for the expanded
keyboard and for keyboard shortcuts in general. The library display still
cannot be fully customized (the list view includes only the first author
and paper title, which is rather inconvenient for browsing through
abstracts, for instance).

I also found the upgrade price rather high; something like US$50 would
have been more appropriate.

THE BOTTOM LINE
===============

If your library is not very large, if you have entered your data
consistently, do not often perform complex searches, and do not plan to
do major importing from CD-ROM databases, then you will not gain much
by upgrading. But if you need to manage a large database, and/or plan to
do some serious importing from on-line or CD-ROM databases, then the
new version will make your life much easier.


-- 
  Florin Neumann
  florin@quartz.geology.utoronto.ca